Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Evolution of The Mobile Phone Communication Industry (What is 1Seg?

Present Technologies
Mobile communications technology has made giant strides over the past decade, rapidly moving from first-generation (1G) analog voice-only service to second-generation (2G) digital voice and data communications. These 2G technologies include IS-136 (also known as US-TDMA and Digital AMPS) in the U.S.; GSM in Europe which became a popular standard worldwide; and PDC (Personal Digital Communications) in Japan. NTT DoCoMo's third-generation (3G) FOMA (Freedom Of Mobile multimedia Access) service, based on W-CDMA, has now shifted the mobile communication environment to the next level. This advanced new service not only provides voice transmission quality on a par with fixed-line communications, it also supports diverse multimedia content.

As part of the transition from 3.5G to 4G, NTT DoCoMo is engaged in research to create networks with even higher speeds and larger capacity. Currently, HSDPA (3.5G) can achieve speeds of up to 14 Mbps even when using the same 5 MHz frequency band as W-CDMA (3G). This service was timetabled for introduction in the second quarter of FY2006 (ending in March 2006).

Future Technologies

In addition to Audio Barcodes and 3D Display System introduced in the world presently, cutting-edge technologies beyond the imagination are already under development. These include a system that makes distant objects feel like an extension of the human body for ultra-realistic experiences, and advanced chips that will allow items such as household appliances to communicate. What's more, we are actively realizing 4G technology such as MIMO (Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output) multiplexing technology and a wireless access communications system, as well as contributing to the establishment of specifications for global standardization.

Researchers have a clear vision of the future. A future that will unite all of the above advances and many more, to create a world where people can communicate at a higher level, regardless of time and space.



1seg

1seg is a mobile terrestrial digital audio/video and data broadcasting service in Japan. Service began experimentally during 2005 and commercially on April 1, 2006. The first mobile phone handsets for 1seg were sold by KDDI to consumers in autumn 2005.

Terrestrial digital broadcast in Japan (ISDB-T) is designed so that each channel is divided into 13 segments (plus one segment for separating channels). HDTV broadcast occupies 12 segments, and the remaining (13th) one segment is used for mobile receivers. Thus the name, "1seg" or "One Seg".




Read More HERE!!

Monday, May 26, 2008

10 Reasons to Ditch Your Blackberry for the iPhone

I’ll offer you ten reasons why you should leave your Blackberry behind and choose to phone different*

*In this article, I am using the Curve as the measuring stick for all things ‘Blackberry’

10. Touchscreen/Non-Touchscreen
Call me crazy but I don’t miss the QWERTY keypad on the Curve at all. I’ve quickly grown accustomed to the iPhone’s soft keyboard and haven’t looked back. My trick? Type with conviction.

It may be just personal preference, but I always thought the Curve’s keyboard to be its weakest point. It was efficient, to be sure, but the keyboard’s quality didn’t match with the rest of the phone. Sure, I got the reassurance of a ‘click’ but it is much too plastic-y and hollow for my liking.

Because a main draw to smartphones (non-iPhone) is the physical keyboard, I think it’s a glaring oversight that RIM included such a sub-par keyboard. Bear with me here, Apple’s soft keyboard has received favorable reviews in its execution while the Curve’s keyboard just seems cheap.


9. E-Mail
Before I get flamed to obscurity, know this, I acknowledge that the Blackberry is an e-mail beast. Push e-mail is always better than pull e-mail, no arguments about it.

It’s just that the iPhone’s Mail Client is not as pathetic as it is made to be. Even though it isn’t instantaneous, I prefer the interface of mail on the iPhone. Perhaps it’s the bigger screen real estate that allows more fluid and intuitive programming, but the Blackberry just seemed so basic after experiencing mail on the iPhone.

The standard e-mail client on the Blackberry leaves so much to be desired and the white TextEdit-esque background is not elegant whatsoever.


8. Design
Everything about the Curve was thoughtfully approached, from the form factor that fits perfectly into your hand to the rubber grips that outline the edges. The lightness of the phone was also a pleasant surprise, the Curve just felt perfect in your hands. But with the Blackberry, the appeal lessens over time; it just became another device to carry, a design trapped by its phone functionality.

On the flip side, the iPhone’s design is award winning and very likely, the best looking gadget on the market. The one piece design redefines the way a phone is ‘supposed’ to look and by just holding it, you can feel its importance.


7. Sync
My problem with Blackberry was always the lack of Mac support. Right out of the box, there is no solution. Mac Users would have to find third party programs such as PocketMac or the MissingSync to connect to their computer.


6. Media
The Curve was supposed to be RIM’s big step into the multimedia world. But without being able to sync to my Mac (and to iTunes), my Curve just languished in non-media purgatory. My 4GB microsd card? Useless. The Curve’s supposedly improved media capabilities? Never used.

The iPhone is as Steve Jobs often puts it, the best iPod in Apple’s iPod line. As Blackberry slowly improves their media capabilities, Apple is already firmly entrenched as the premier media device maker in the business.


WATCH OUT FOR THE NEXT FIVE!!!

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Format the iPhone and wipe all the data completely?



For those advanced user, they may restore those refurbished iPhone and grab the previous owner’s personal data. In order to protect yourself before giving back the iPhone for repair or refund, you may try the following steps,

1. Restore the iPhone from iTunes.
2. On the “Info” tab un-check all options.
3. On the Photos, Podcasts, and Video tabs, un-check “Sync …”.
4. Create 3 big playlists at large as the storage capacity of your iPhone.
5. On the Music tab, select the first of your 3 playlists to sync. This will make the storage bar at the bottom looks full after syncing.
6. Sync your iPhone, change to the next playlist, sync again, and repeat one last time.

Since we do not have advanced recovery software, we cannot test it whether it works 100% or not. But, logically, this method will wipe the iPhone memory few times and will help to clean all the personal information stored.

Friday, May 23, 2008

The best beach in the U.S.

This year's runners-up on Leatherman's list of best beaches were Hanalei Beach, Hawaii; Siesta Beach in Sarasota, Fla.; Coopers Beach in Southampton, N.Y.; Coronado Beach in San Diego; Main Beach in East Hampton, N.Y.; Hamoa Beach, Hawaii; Cape Hatteras, N.C.; Cape Florida State Park near Miami; and Beachwalker Park on Kiawah Island, S.C.

Caladesi's somewhat remote location factored into Leatherman's rankings — and why Sturm and her mother, Cynde Jayden, were awed by it.

"It's an island getaway," said Leatherman, who has released his annual list since 1991. He noted that despite being in the densely populated Tampa Bay-area, many nearby residents have never visited Caladesi.

Most beachgoers reach the island by a 15-minute, $9 ferry ride. Visitors — unless they bring their own boat — are limited to four-hour stays at the beach, which is a state park.

While more remote than the tourist mainstays of Clearwater or Miami, Caladesi still boasts showers, restrooms, kayak and beach chair rentals, and a snack bar where burgers and beer are available.

Caladesi's fine, white quartz sand beach owes its creation to a 1921 hurricane, which separated it from nearby Honeymoon Island. Caladesi became a state park in 1968.

The waves are generally low on Caladesi, which Leatherman said adds to its family friendly atmosphere. He uses 50 criteria — including quality tests on water, sand and amenities — to make his assessments.

"It's not just about going out and kicking sand," Leatherman said.

But for tourists it is.

Jayden, 52, spent a recent weekday trying to get a tan before returning to her home near Pittsburgh. "I like that you can just see forever," she said. "There's no world out there."

Jake Wolf and Katie Pass, prospective dental school students from the Kansas City area, said they decided to spend part of their vacation at Caladesi because they figured it would be less crowded than other gulf beaches.

"The fact that you have to take a ferry is different, a little exciting," said Pass, 25.

Caladesi, which ranked second in Leatherman's rankings in 2007, will now be retired from the list. Most years, he has chosen beaches in Florida or Hawaii as the top-ranked. He broke that trend last year by awarding the top spot to Ocracoke Island on North Carolina's Outer Banks.

Leatherman compiles his list as part of the National Healthy Beaches Campaign, and this year plans a television special featuring the nation's best beaches, he said.

Caladesi touts itself as "the real Florida," which is on display on a nature trail that cuts through the center of island. Palmetto scrubs, palm and pine trees sprout from the sandy ground, osprey nests can be seen in the highest branches and lizards and other small animals dart through the leaves.

"It's really the idyllic environment," Leatherman said.

___

On the Net:

Caladesi Island State Park: http://www.floridastateparks.org/CaladesiIsland/

Stephen Leatherman's beach rankings: http://www.drbeach.org

___

Here are the winners going back to 1991 of Florida International University professor Stephen P. Leatherman's annual Best Beach award. Winners are retired from later lists.

2008 — Caladesi Island State Park, Dunedin, Fla.

2007 — Ocracoke Lifeguarded Beach, Outer Banks, N.C.

2006 — Fleming Beach Park, Maui, Hawaii

2005 — Fort DeSoto Park — North Beach, St. Petersburg, Fla.

2004 — Hanauma Bay, Oahu, Hawaii

2003 — Kaanapali, Maui, Hawaii

2002 — St. Joseph Peninsula State Park, Port St. Joe, Fla.

2001 — Poipu Beach Park, Kauai, Hawaii

2000 — Mauna Kea Beach, Hawaii

1999 — Wailea Beach, Maui, Hawaii

1998 — Kailua Beach Park, Oahu Hawaii

1997 — Hulopoe, Lanai, Hawaii

1996 — Lanikai Beach, Oahu, Hawaii

1995 — St. Andrews State Park, Panama City, Fla.

1994 — Grayton Beach State Park, Santa Rosa Beach, Fla.

1993 — Hapuna, Hawaii

1992 — Bahia Honda, Big Pine Key, Fla.

1991 — Kapalua Bay Beach, Maui, Hawaii

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Lakers and Spurs Renew a Rivalry


The Spurs-Lakers rivalry has been on hiatus since 2004 for one simple reason: The Lakers have not been very good. They are now.

So two of the N.B.A.’s dominant teams of the past decade meet again, with the winner taking a giant step toward another possible championship. The Lakers and the Spurs have combined to win seven of the last nine championships.

The Lakers and Spurs begin another playoff series tonight at Staples Center, their sixth meeting in the last 10 seasons, part of a rivalry in which familiarity breeds mild contempt and, often, an NBA title.

Not to be forgotten, Popovich had a problem with the Lakers' acquisition of Pau Gasol in February.

"What they did in Memphis is beyond comprehension," he told reporters shortly after Gasol arrived from the Grizzlies. "I just wish I had been on a trade committee that oversees NBA trades. I'd like to elect myself to that committee. I would have voted no to the L.A. trade."

Fast forward to Tuesday, and the Spurs were already a step behind the Lakers.

The Spurs planned to fly Monday night from New Orleans to Los Angeles after eliminating the Hornets, 91-82, but they ended up spending the night on the team plane as it sat near the airport tarmac in New Orleans because of mechanical problems.

The Lakers and the Spurs last met at this stage of the playoffs seven years ago, with the Lakers sweeping the Spurs on their way to a 15-1 postseason record. The teams met in the conference semifinals in each of the next three years, with the Lakers winning twice, most recently in 2004, when they lost the first two games before winning the last four.

Game 5 had a classic finish, with the Spurs’ Tim Duncan making what appeared to be a game-winning jump shot from the top of the key, but Derek Fisher made a turnaround jumper with .4 seconds to play to clinch the game.

“I’m sure it will come up a lot,” said Fisher, who left the Lakers after the 2003-4 season but returned this season.

“Hopefully, we won’t need anything remotely close to that to win.”

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Blue Zones finds places where people live longest

By JEFF BAENEN, Associated Press Writer Mon May 19, 8:52 AM ET

MINNEAPOLIS - If you are looking for a Fountain of Youth, forget pills and diet supplements. Adventurer Dan Buettner has visited four spots on the globe where people live into their 90s and 100s and outlines how they add years of good life in his new book, "The Blue Zones."

The answer, Buettner says, includes smaller food portions, an active lifestyle and moderate drinking.

"If someone tells you they have a pill or hormone (that extends life), you're about to lose money," Buettner says.

Buettner identifies four hot spots of longevity: the mountainous Barbagia region of Sardinia, an island off the coast of Italy; the Japanese island of Okinawa; a community of Seventh-day Adventists in Loma Linda, Calif., about 60 miles east of Los Angeles; and the Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica, in Central America. (The term "Blue Zones" takes its name from the blue ink Belgian demographer Michel Poulain used to circle an area of long-living Sardinians on a map.)

What Buettner found in his seven years of research and travel were common denominators among the vigorous super-elderly — close family relationships, a sense of purpose, healthy eating habits. He distills them into what he calls the Power Nine that readers can use to create their own Blue Zone.

"Picking half a dozen things off of this al a carte menu, and sticking to it, is probably worth eight to 10 (extra) years for the average American. And you'll look younger and feel younger on the way," says Buettner, a tall and lean 48-year-old who says he hopes to live until at least 100.

Buettner turned to probing the secrets of the longest-living cultures after leading three long-distance bicycle expeditions — from the tip of North America to the tip of South America; across the United States, Europe and the Soviet Union; and across Africa — in the 1980s and 1990s. He also used the Internet to take classrooms on interactive quests to solve everything from the collapse of ancient Mayan civilization to human origins in Africa.

Buettner made his first expedition to Okinawa in 2000 and eventually wrote a National Geographic cover story, "The Secrets of Long Life," in November 2005. That led to National Geographic publishing "The Blue Zones" this March. The book debuted at No. 15 on The New York Times' list of advice book best sellers but has since dropped off.

Living long — even forever — is a human desire throughout history, says Dr. Robert Butler, president and CEO of the International Longevity Center-USA in New York. But Butler says he's skeptical of claims of places of long-living people.

"There's always been these rumors but they've always turned out to be inaccurate," said Butler, who appears in "The Blue Zones" but has not read it.

Buettner is aware of the skepticism, but says he and his team of demographers, which included Poulain, scrupulously checked birth and death records and vetted the ages of Blue Zone residents in his book.

"We have the numerical data that shows that these places (in 'The Blue Zones') are living longer. It's not just anecdotal," Buettner said.

While ranking populations by average life expectancy is nothing new, Buettner has "done a nice job putting faces to it and looking at some of the special characteristics — be it diet or happiness — that typify some of these regions," said Dr. Thomas T. Perls, director of the New England Centenarian Study and an associate professor of medicine at the Boston University School of Medicine. Perls also appears in the book.

Because of obesity and smoking, Americans are living about 10 years less than they should be, said Perls, co-author of the book "Living to 100." He said if Americans embraced the healthy habits advocated by Buettner, the impact on public health "would be huge."

Buettner found long-lived people have a sense of purpose and a strong support network. In Okinawa, women gather in social networks known as moais.

"Even at age 100, they're all getting together in their moai ... at 5 o'clock every day. They sit around, they drink a couple glasses of sake, they gossip, they talk about sex. If one doesn't show up to the afternoon gathering, the other four sort of hobble over to see if she's fallen down or if she needs help," Buettner said.

Women in Okinawa also tend to be spiritual leaders, which imbues them with a sense of purpose, or "ikigai," Buettner said.

Regular attendance at religious services also is a factor, Buettner said. Seventh-day Adventists observe the Sabbath on Saturday, which gives them a weekly break from stress.

"There's no question but having a spiritual sense — a sense of belonging, a sense of personal value — enhances a person's ability to follow good health habits. Out of that arises the longevity," said Dr. Richard Hart, president and CEO of Loma Linda University Adventist Health Sciences Center.

Limiting food intake and eating healthy also are key, Buettner said. Elderly Okinawans follow a maxim to eat only until their stomachs are 80 percent full, Buettner said. Centenarians in Sardinia, Okinawa and Nicoya rarely ate meat, and some Adventists stick only to a plant-based diet. Adventists frequently eat nuts while Okinawans eat tofu.

Drinking in moderation can help, Buettner said. Sardinians drink a dark red wine that's loaded with antioxidants, he said.

Exposure to sun — a source of vitamin D — also is common in Blue Zones, where the residents are tan, Buettner said.

"We shouldn't be burning ourselves, we shouldn't be frying. But 20 minutes a day, in the climates or the latitudes that have quality sunshine, it's probably a good takeaway," he said.

Buettner also advocates low-intensity physical activity. After years of biking, Buettner has switched to yoga for his main exercise. He lives on Lake of the Isles in Minneapolis, where he can skate around the lake in the summer and cross-country ski across it in the winter.

"You identify what you like to do, and you do it, because you're likely to do that over the long run," Buettner said.

Buettner also recommends "de-conveniencing" your home — getting rid of the TV remote or the power lawnmower. Buettner moved up to the third floor of his spacious home "so every time I need a shirt I walk three flights of stairs."

Modern life is threatening the Blue Zones' reputation for longevity, Buettner said. Obesity rates have soared in Sardinia, where young people are eating chips and drinking soda pop, he said.

"The phenomena of longevity is disappearing in all places, except for maybe among the Adventists, and the purpose of this book was to capture it and observe it before it disappeared, and measure it," Buettner said.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

What is Ubuntu?


Ubuntu is a community developed operating system that is perfect for laptops, desktops and servers. Whether you use it at home, at school or at work Ubuntu contains all the applications you'll ever need, from word processing and email applications, to web server software and programming tools.

Ubuntu is and always will be free of charge. You do not pay any licensing fees. You can download, use and share Ubuntu with your friends, family, school or business for absolutely nothing.

We issue a new desktop and server release every six months. That means you'll always have the the latest and greatest applications that the open source world has to offer.



Ubuntu is designed with security in mind. You get free security updates for at least 18 months on the desktop and server. With the Long Term Support (LTS) version you get three years support on the desktop, and five years on the server. There is no extra fee for the LTS version, we make our very best work available to everyone on the same free terms. Upgrades to new versions of Ubuntu are and always will be free of charge.

Everything you need on one CD, which provides a complete working environment. Additional software is available online.

The graphical installer enables you to get up and running quickly and easily. A standard installation should take less than 25 minutes.

Once installed your system is immediately ready-to-use. On the desktop you have a full set of productivity, internet, drawing and graphics applications, and games.

On the server you get just what you need to get up and running and nothing you don't.



What does Ubuntu mean?

Ubuntu is an African word meaning 'Humanity to others', or 'I am what I am because of who we all are'. The Ubuntu distribution brings the spirit of Ubuntu to the software world.